This paper presents the results of a survey administered during the spring of 2005. At this time, graduates of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program from two public schools in a large city in British Columbia, Canada, were asked to respond to 20 statements on a 4-point Likert-type scale, and to 7 open-ended questions. Graduates from the…

For teaching gifted and other high-ability learners, the idea that understanding is more significant than knowing is nearly a no-brainer. Teachers are continuously looking for ways to raise the intellectual bar through classroom challenges that push these learners to extend beyond the factual knowledge base that is often the measuring stick of…

Magnet schools have developed strong national and local constituencies among parents and educators, who see them as vehicles for bringing equity and academic excellence to all students. Typically, these schools offer innovative programs through a specialized focus or theme. They may emphasize subjects like science or the arts, or they may adopt…

At its core, a curriculum is what happens among learners and teachers in the classroom. TESOL's Language Curriculum Development Series describes how teachers, curriculum developers, and administrators have developed, adapted, or renewed a language curriculum. In doing so, they have responded creatively and realistically to learners' needs. The…

This issue of the Center's "Systems Newsletter" will be the last one published under the aegis of Dr. JoyceVanTassel-Baska, the Center's founder and current Executive Director. As of this August Dr. VanTassel-Baska will officially retire from the College of William and Mary and the Center. She will still be an integral part of the Center…

In an effort to understand one aspect of the relationship between the secondary and postsecondary sectors in Indiana, this analysis reports data regarding on-site instruction at the secondary school in which students earn dual credit. Under "dual credit" arrangements, a student simultaneously earns credit that will count toward meeting…

This paper examines whether the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, a magnet school in its second year of operation, has improved equity of opportunities for Maine students to participate in advanced mathematics and science courses. Data on per pupil expenditures, state aid to school districts, and course offerings were obtained from the…

A case is presented for adjusting the scores for free response items in the Advanced Placement (AP) tests. Using information about the rating process from the reliability studies, administrations of the AP test for three subject areas, psychology, computer science, and English language and composition, are analyzed. In the reliability studies, 299…

The comments of a student new to Advanced Placement courses convinced a teacher of Advanced Placement English that opening up her class to all students was not enough--the teacher had to learn how to teach an untracked English class. Three basic strategies for teaching the class took shape: the teacher spent a great deal of time modeling tasks;…

This paper discusses the assumptions required by the item response theory (IRT) true-score equating method (with Stocking & Lord, 1983; scaling approach), which is commonly used in the nonequivalent groups with an anchor data-collection design. More precisely, this paper investigates the assumptions made at each step by the IRT approach to…

An overview is provided of the efforts initiated by San Juan College (SJC) to improve articulation with local high schools. Following introductory remarks describing SJC and its service area, information is presented on SJC's yearly in-service training day for 1,500 county educators, including a list of workshops presented during the 1984 program.…

The College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) biology program is explained and options within it are explored in this guide for teachers. Experienced AP biology teachers were surveyed for information concerning approaches that were effective in their programs. Descriptions and suggestions from the 14 respondents are reported in the area of: (1)…

Two nontraditional markets for increased college/university enrollments are discussed, potential students age 50 and over and high school students enrolled for dual credit in advance placement classes. Two telephone surveys were conducted, one to county residents aged 50 and over, regarding their educational needs and interests, and the other to…

The Admissions Testing Program (ATP) is a service of the College Board. The 1979 ATP summary reports on college-bound seniors were produced for each region of the United States, including New England, the Middle, Southern, Midwestern, Southwestern, Rocky Mountain, and Western States. The national and each regional report are in separate booklets.…

The reasons academically gifted high school seniors select institutions of higher education and their interest in precollege, university-level courses were studied. Gifted seniors in the Tucson Unified School District were mailed the Higher Education Orientation Inventory (HEOI), an adaptation of the Graduate Student Satisfaction Questionnaire.…